How to Make Oobleck in a Rainbow of Colors!

An amazing sensory play and science activity is just minutes away and all you need is two simple ingredients, cornstarch and water, to create a rainbow of color! Explore polymers and non-Newtonian fluids at home or in the classroom. You need to learn how to make oobleck with cornstarch with the kids this year! Easy and cheap for a VERY touch-friendly and simple science activity!

HOW TO MAKE OOBLECK WITH CORNSTARCH!

CORNSTARCH AND WATER SLIME

Get ready to add this simple science activity, making colorful rainbow Oobleck to your science or STEM lesson plans this season. If you want to learn more about non-Newtonian fluids and create a cool tactile experience for your kids, let’s dig in! While you’re at it, make sure to check out these other fun simple science activities.

Our science activities and experiments are designed with you, the parent or teacher, in mind! Easy to set up, quick to do, most activities will take only 15 to 30 minutes to complete (longer if you want) and are heaps of fun! Plus, our supplies lists usually contain only free or cheap materials you can source from home!

HOW TO MAKE OOBLECK WITH CORNSTARCH

Let’s get right to making oobleck or goo as its sometimes called… Oobleck with cornstarch and water is a classic science activity every kid needs to try. Head to the kitchen, open the cupboards or pantry and be prepared to get a little messy. Your hands are the best mixing tools!

This rainbow-colored oobleck experiment explores the question: What are the properties of a non-Newtonian Fluid?

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RAINBOW OOBLECK RECIPE

YOU WILL NEED:

1-1.5 Cups of Cornstarch

1 Cup Water

Food Coloring

Tray, Bowl, and Spoon

Measuring Cups

HOW TO MAKE OOBLECK:

Oobleck is a combination of cornstarch and water. You will want to keep additional cornstarch on hand if you need to thicken the mixture. Generally, the oobleck recipe is a ratio of 1:1, so one cup of water and one cup of cornstarch, but I will often add an additional 1/2 cup of cornstarch.

Since this rainbow oobleck activity calls for quite a few colors, you can go ahead and make smaller batches too!

STEP 1: In your bowl or baking dish, add the cornstarch. You can start mixing the oobleck in a bowl and then transfer it to a baking dish if you prefer.

STEP 2: If you want to give your oobleck a color such as green, add food coloring to your water first. Remember that you have a whole lot of white cornstarch so you will need a good amount of food coloring if you want a more vibrant color.

STEP 3: You can start mixing up your oobleck with a spoon, but I guarantee you are going to need to get your hands in there at some point during the mixing process.

Repeat the oobleck making process for each new color!

STEP 4: Transfer each color to a tray so you can mix and swirl it!

GET THE RIGHT CONSISTENCY

There is a gray area for the right oobleck consistency. First, you don’t want it to be very crumbly, but you also don’t want it to be very soupy either. If you have a reluctant kiddo, hand them a spoon to start! Let them warm up to the idea of this squishy substance. Never force them to touch it though.

The perfect consistency for oobleck is when you can pick up a clump in your hand, form it into a ball of sorts, and then watch it flow like a liquid back into the pan or bowl.

Once you have your oobleck mixed to the desired consistency, you can add your accessories as desired and play!

OOBLECK IN THE CLASSROOM

This oobleck activity can get pretty messy so be prepared with appropriate clothing and cover tables if necessary.

Can you make oobleck with baking soda or flour? This would be a great way to experiment with different materials, make comparisons, and draw conclusions!

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WHAT IS OOBLECK?

Oobleck is a fun substance to play with which is made from cornstarch and water. It’s a bit messy too!

It is a great example of a mixture! A mixture is a material made up of two or more substances combined together to form a new material and that can be separated again. Do you think the oobleck mixture could be separated into cornflour and water again? How?

Try leaving a tray of oobleck out for a few days. What happens to the oobleck? Where do you think the water has gone?

This oobleck activity is also a great way to explore the properties of liquids and solids, know as the states of matter. Here we are combining a liquid and a solid, but the mixture doesn’t become one or the other. A solid has its own shape whereas a liquid will take the shape of the container it is put into. Oobleck is a bit of both!

That’s why oobleck is called a non-Newtonian fluid. This means it is neither a liquid nor a solid but has properties of both! You can pick up a clump of the substance like a solid and then watch it ooze back into the bowl like a liquid. Touch the surface lightly and it will feel firm and solid. If you apply more pressure, your fingers will sink into it like a liquid.

Is oobleck a solid?

Or is oobleck a liquid?

Did you know that cornstarch is a polymer? Polymers have long chains that make them up (like the glue used in slime). When these chains get all tangled up with one another, they create more of a solid!

MAKE IT AN EXPERIMENT

Want to experiment with viscosity? Easy, change the ratio of water to cornstarch! Viscosity is the physical property of fluids and how thick or thin they are and including how they flow.

What happens when you add more cornstarch? Does the oobleck become thicker or thinner?

What happens when you add more water? Does it flow faster or slower?

Can you make oobleck without cornstarch?

You could try making oobleck with flour, powder, or baking soda and compare the similarities and differences.

We tried an oobleck experiment of our own using just cornstarch and glue. Find out what happened —> OOBLECK SLIME